SHAH ALAM: The King – Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar – has asked for explanation on the delay in the completion of the combat dive complex at the Iskandar Camp, Mersing. The King – who is also GGK Colonel Commandant – in a Facebook post today stated that the complex should be completed by December 2022.
“Infact, I was told yesterday that those involved had asked for six extensions. And today I found that the project signboard has been taken down. I want the sign board to be reerected and I want the Johor Public Works Department and the Mersing district engineer to explain”, the King said in the post.
The King himself had conducted the ground-breaking ceremony for the combat dive complex in 2018. The combat dive complex was to be used by GGK operators for training in maritime operations.
The full release below:
YANG DI-PERTUAN AGONG MAHU PIHAK BERTANGGUNGJAWAB JELASKAN KELEWATAN PEMBINAAN KOLAM SELAM TEMPUR KEM ISKANDAR
KDYMM SPB Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim menitahkan pihak yang bertanggungjawab membina kolam selam tempur di Kem Iskandar, Mersing memperjelaskan punca kelewatan pembinaan.
Sultan Ibrahim yang juga Kolonel Komandan Gerup Gerak Khas (GGK) bertitah, kolam itu sepatutnya siap sepenuhnya pada Disember 2022, namun sehingga kini masih dalam pembinaan.
“Malah, semalam saya dimaklumkan lanjutan masa sebanyak enam kali telah dimohon oleh pihak berkenaan.
“Dan pada hari ini, saya mendapati papan tanda projek di tapak pembinaan pula dirobohkan. Mengapa ia dirobohkan, saya mahu perkara ini diperjelaskan oleh Jabatan Kerja Raya Negeri Johor dan Jurutera Daerah Mersing,” titah Seri Paduka Baginda kepada Royal Press Office (RPO) hari ini (15 April).
Justeru, Seri Paduka Baginda menitahkan papan tanda berkenaan dipasang semula di tapak projek pembinaan.
Majlis pecah tanah kolam berkenaan disempurnakan oleh Sultan Ibrahim
pada Mei 2018.
Kolam selam tempur merupakan fasilitas yang amat diperlukan oleh anggota 21 GGK bagi meningkatkan kompitensi individu dan tim khususnya dalam menangani ancaman dari domain maritim.
Fasilitas ini juga dilengkapi dengan pelbagai kemudahan seperti mock up kapal, entry point bagi kemasukan melalui udara serta banyak lagi kemudahan-kemudahan asas sokongan operasi.
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From the collapsed signboard we know the contractor is Lambang Cipta Sdn Bhd, which is based in Johor Bahru. The company took control of the site in July 2020 as the country was overcome by the pandemic.
— Malaysian Defence
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View Comments (78)
I suspect the typical contractor with weak capability and finance that had used "cable" to secure the project. Even a minor hiccup will disrupt their project cashflow.
Who was the original contractor? What is the main reason for the delay? Payment? contractor capability? sub-contractor issues? lack of proper project management by JKR?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Eb0IJsxUYAYGCXZ.jpg
https://www.jkr.gov.my/my/page/majlis-penyerahan-sst-3-dalam-1-bagi-projek-pembinaan-kolam-menyelam-tempur-kem-21-ggk-di
From the link you posted it is clear which was the original contractor.
According to Google the company is temporarily closed. Looks like this one has bite the dust too and nobody seemed aware of it. It took the King and not the politicians or ministers to highlight this issue out, so I wonder how many more troubled Govt linked projects have yet to surface. Once again its another of those that went up against tide of political upheaval of 2018-2022 plus Covid too, and did not make it out unscathed. Much like LCS & OPV, i suspect there will be a whole lot of monetary & legal wrangling before this project can continue. It looks to be about 70-80% done bar any interior fitments & finishing.
It can be done quickly if they wanted it to be. The King intervention will do it.
@ marhalim,
I was under the impression (might be wrong) that there was another contractor during the groundbreaking ceremony in May 2018, no? The 2020 contract is to replace the original 2018 one?
https://www.hmetro.com.my/mutakhir/2018/05/337656/bina-kolam-selam-tempur-untuk-ggk
There was no mention of the contractor in the article.
so basically you can pecah tanah in May 2018 (by the Sultan none the less) without a contractor, then in June 2020 (2 years after the pecah tanah) only appoint the contractor to build the thing?
There was no contractor in 2018?
or what am i missing here?
Perhaps there was but without anything to go on I cannot say much.
It's accepted practice. All in the name of nation building. Approve delays and cost overruns to help the contractors "develop capability" and "grow" - the "tidak apa" attitude. The BNS project team's response to the PAC on the LCS design issues exemplifies the mindset. No amount of oversight will help if the appointed contractors have no expertise and no financial strength, and the default policy is to continue supporting subpar contractors in the name of nation building. Imagine if 100 delayed projects require additional RM100,000 per project. That is RM100 million in money pulled from other projects such as Army bases in Sabah. Just as RM4b+ additional funding for the LCS basically drowned LMS2 to just 3 ships from 8 and pushed the MRSS to after 2030. Until people are willing to change existing policies, just have to accept. The sad thing is, in the past, cost overruns are tolerated as long a the project is completed. Today, cost overruns are tolerated but there is no definite expectation for the project to be finished - abandon is accepted as a norm.
What’s surprising? Isn’t the 1st time a contractor or vendor received a contract and for various reasons faced “difficulties” and left the client in the lurch. Can we expect differently the way we hand out contracts to local outfits merely because they’re bumi and connected? There have been cases of companies granted small contracts which deliver part of what they were supposed to [either in services or equipment] but then go bust. Takes years to sort out the mess.
"The King intervention will do it."
As a rakyat I sure hope so, and I also hope he can wield that power to jumpstart again LCS & OPV pronto cutting thru all the legal redtapes.
But from a legal perspective, Im doubtful. Lets say if that company has foreclosed or dormant, there is a lot more legal wrangling to untangle before a new contractor can even start work.
"Today, cost overruns are tolerated but there is no definite expectation"
So basically UBAH for the worse then.
We won’t know until it’s actually signed off course but it does look like the RMAF’s immediate requirement will be met. Pure speculation but it looks like the AW149 is the leading contender. What I don’t get about the design is why does it have so many windows. I do like the stowage space it has to the rear and that it has cameras facing downwards fie use when under slinging stuff. Without the camera the AQM would have to rely on what he can see from the side abd from anyone on the ground.
On the army I would be pleasantly surprised if it gets its helis within the coming years. Off course even if the army’s leadership makes aviation a priority the decision makers might think otherwise.
Personally I feel AD should be the immediate army priority given that this is one in which we’ve been traditionally weak in but for every justification one can make for AD; one can also make for helis and other things.
Interesting on the AW149. I met a guy who should be in the know in January who said the AW149 was too expensive to have any chance of winning the tender.
If it is really the AW149, why does it need to cost USD50 million each?
The USD600 million allocation could easily buy us a MERAD regiment with money to spare.